Dr Anita Kotwani is an independent research professional with 41 years of teaching and research experience in pharmacology and public health. She retired as a Professor and the Head of Department of Pharmacology at the Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (VPCI), University of Delhi, India. She has a PhD from the University of Delhi and has published about 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals. At present, she works as an independent consultant and is involved in a multidisciplinary project on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and labour migration in India and Nepal.
Dr Kotwani’s primary areas of interest include surveillance of antimicrobial medicine use, containment of AMR, access to essential medicines including antibiotics, and the rational use of medicines. She served on a one-year assignment with the World Health Organization (WHO) in New Delhi, where she worked with Member States to improve access to essential medicines and promote the rational use of antibiotics. She has continued to collaborate frequently with WHO on methods for assessing antimicrobial use in outpatient settings, developing national action plans on AMR, creating targeted educational materials to increase AMR awareness among healthcare professionals, evaluating access to antibiotics, and developing methodologies for antimicrobial use surveillance in low-resource settings.